The present invention is related generally to computer networks and, more particularly, to a system and method for monitoring user activity and reporting the same in a computer network.
Computer networks, such as the Internet, are extensively used for storage and retrieval of a vast reservoir of information. Person-to-person communication, in the form of electronic mail (e-mail), has also become widely accepted as a replacement for conventional mail and facsimile. Any individual who has access to the Internet can establish an e-mail account and communicate with other individuals on the Internet.
A new form of e-mail communication, known as instant messaging, is gaining popularity among users of the Internet. As shown in a recent popular movie, xe2x80x9cYou""ve Got Mail,xe2x80x9d two individuals can engage in an ongoing electronic communication without the need for entering the message recipient""s e-mail address for each individual transmission. The advantage of instant messaging is that two or more individuals may engage in an ongoing electronic xe2x80x9cchatxe2x80x9d by simply typing the message on the keyboard and pressing the xe2x80x9cEnterxe2x80x9d button on the computer keyboard or by clicking on a xe2x80x9cSendxe2x80x9d icon on the computer display screen.
Unlike telephonic communication, when participants know that a person is speaking, participants in an instant messaging session do not know that somebody is preparing a message for transmission. Without a cue that the other person is transmitting information, it is difficult to have a smooth conversational flow. One mechanism that addresses this problem is employed by a UNIX xe2x80x9ctalkxe2x80x9d program, which performs a character-by-character transmission of an instant message. That is, each time individual types of a single character on the computer keyboard, that character is transmitted to all other participants in the instant messaging session. Because other participants are essentially watching the person type, there are clear cues that a user is xe2x80x9ctalking.xe2x80x9d
However, this approach has several limitations. First, character-by-character transmission greatly increases the flow of network traffic because each character requires one or more data packets to be sent to each participant in the instant messaging session. In addition, many users do not like to be xe2x80x9cwatchedxe2x80x9d as they type, as their typing errors and incomplete thoughts are transmitted before they can be corrected. Finally, message recipients are often distracted by watching the flickering screen in which characters appear one time as a complete message is formed. Therefore, it can be appreciated that there is a significant need for a system and method that will provide the desired notification of user activity in a computer network. The present invention provides this, and other advantages, as will be apparent from the following detailed description and accompanying figures.
The present invention is embodied in a system and method for detecting user operation of a user input device and providing an activity notification to other computers in a computer network. This is particularly useful in an instant messaging session where two or more participants may be preparing messages for other participants in the instant messaging session. The system comprises a user input device, such as a keyboard, microphone, mouse, or the like, and an activity monitor to detect user activation of the user input device. The activity monitor will generate a signal indicative of user activation of the input device. A timer measures a first predetermined time interval and, if user activity is detected within the first predetermined time interval, a message processor generates an activity message at the end of the first predetermined time interval and transmits the activity message to at least one recipient with whom the user is communicating via the computer network.
When the user initially activates the user input device to begin composing a message, the activity message processor can immediately send an activity message without waiting for the expiration of the first predetermined time interval. So long as user activity continues to occur in each subsequent first predetermined time interval, an activity message is sent to the at least one recipient at the end of each time interval. If no user activity occurs during a particular time interval, the activity message processor will not send an activity message at the end of that time interval. If the user subsequently begins activity on the user input device again, the activity message processor can send an immediate activity message or, alternatively, wait for the expiration of the first predetermined time interval to send the activity message.
The recipient receives and processes the activity message to thereby generate an activity indicator, which may be conveniently displayed on the computer display. The activity indicator may be in the form of a textual status message, a graphical icon, or a combination of the two. In this manner, the user of the recipient machine is aware that another individual is actively preparing a message for transmission via the computer network.
Since the activity message is only transmitted when a user is actively operating the user input device, the recipient computer must have a way of determining when some other user is no longer active. The recipient computer uses a timer to measure a second predetermined time interval. In one embodiment, the second predetermined time interval is longer than the first predetermined time interval. If an activity message is not received within the second predetermined time interval, the recipient machine can delete the activity indicator from the display, thereby providing the user of the recipient computer with an indication that the other participant is no longer actively entering data on their user input device. In this manner, the recipient machine does not rely on any status message indicating nonactivity, but simply presumes that a nonactive status is appropriate if a subsequent activity message is not received. This technique also minimizes processing of activity messages by the recipient computer since only the first activity message need result in a display of the activity indicator. If subsequent activity messages are received within the second predetermined time interval, the recipient computer does not need to alter the display to indicate the continued active status. If the activity message is not received within the second predetermined time interval, the recipient computer can delete the status indicator from the display. Alternatively, the message sender can define the second predetermined time interval by sending data within the text message and/or the activity message. This programmability allows the sender to alter the predetermined time period.